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- LESS STATE OR MORE STATE? KATRINA GIVES THE ANSWER

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita wrecked havoc in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Texas, USA, during September 2005.

Besides the appalling spectacle of corps drifting for days in New Orleans' dirty waters, and the economic disaster the natural Weapons of Massive Destructions created in the Gulf Coast region, the dramatic events revealed two things:

1- The hidden face of poverty in the United States of America.

2- The astonishing inefficiency of federal's relief efforts, which, obviously, was the result of the implementation - for decades - of the neocons governing policy based on the "less state" doctrine.

Indeed, since Ronald Reagan's election in 1980, conservatives won the argument for a shrunken state, one that taxes and spends less.

That neoliberal model - with put emphasis on privatization and deregulation - has spread across the world, thanks to the World Bank and the IMF, and had been often imposed on countries.

Right now, it continues to split the European Union, with France and Germany insisting to preserve the "social model" they consider superior to neoliberalism advocated by Blair's UK.

It created disaster in sub-Saharan African countries' economy destroying national entrepreneurship and initiatives.

That is the reason the second revelation of Katrina's aftermath above briefly outlined is our concern for this issue.

Indeed, since mid 1985's - the start of Structural Adjustment Programs - globalization policy tightens its grips on the economy of the South, through the promotion of the economic dogma that less state is the better way to achieve a developing pace that would help African countries bridge the gap with the North.

It had been advised to developing countries' governments to
disengage from developing matters and give free way to private companies; the state being only in charge of establishing infrastructure (road building, telecom infrastructure, social infrastructure (schools, universities, hospitals). African governments complied to the advice, sold state owned companies (built over years of hard work) to private (most of the time) international) companies.

Said policy was supposed to improve the economic situation of African countries to stopping the decline and reverse the trend.

As we all know, that had not happened. In the contrary, the economic situation worsened to the point of desperation as poverty level increased all over African countries.

Should African countries continue with the same policy of non-intervention in the productive developing process? Not to get involved in companies setup? Not to plan for the global development of the economy? To leave private business run the economy?

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita's aftermaths openned some avenues to think it over again.
Indeed,
Katrina reopened the debate about the adequacy of neoliberalism for the developing of African nations.

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-
FISH FARMING AS BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY: PART
I - INTRODUCTION TO FISH FARMING AS BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY IN AFRICAN COUNTRIES

- DEFINITIONS

Often, people confounds fish farming with aquaculture. Aquaculture is a broadest area, which includes fish farming. Aquaculture is the cultivation of aquatic organisms, such as fish, shellfish, algae and other aquatic plants. Some examples of Aquaculture include breeding popular fish such as catfish and tilapia in freshwater ponds, growing cultured pearls, and farming salmon in net-pens set out in a bay.

Fish farming
had been organized since ages by ancient cultures such as the Chinese and the Japanese, and gain international momentum since four decades, particularly in developed countries, to resolve the problem of declining wild fish stocks in rivers and seas due to overfishing.

It involves raising fish commercially in tanks or enclosures, usually for food, sometimes to seed sport-fishing areas. Fish species raised by fish farms include salmon, catfish (image at the left of this paragraph represents the peculiar head of a catfish), tilapia, cod, carp and others.

Aquaculture and specially fish farming has been one of the fastest growing segments of global food production in recent decades. Growing at 11% a year. Click here for more

Inland fish farming is highly developed in Asian countries, in China and India particularly. China produces 60% of its consumption with inland fish-farming and is now making big inroad in sea fish-farming. Integrating fish, livestock, and crop productionis a Chinese practice that has been refined over a period of some 2,000 years - in direct line with the developing strategy outlined in Strategy For African Countries.

- INLAND FISH FARMING IS NOT DEVELOPED YET IN AFRICAN COUNTRIES

Fish is a popular diet all over Africa. The potential of inland fish-farming, however, had not yet been fully exploited by African countries and fishermen keep on "harvesting" fish in rivers, and lakes. Therefore, to cope with demands, huge quantities of fish - frozen, dried, smoked, salted - are imported by most sub-Saharan African countries - the landlocked ones in particular. This document summarizes the potential of fish-farming in Africa

In some sub-Saharan African countries, fishing is a traditional economic activity. There are villages' communities that earn their living through extensive river, lake or sea fishing. Fishermen even live on the spot - alongside rivers or lakes' banks in central and western Africa.

Fishermen in sub-Saharan African countries practiced fishing on small-scale. They use barks or pirogues propelled by oars or motors to practice coastal fishing (one to two miles off the coast) avoiding high sea. Fishermen practicing inland fishing (river and lakes fishing) use small pirogues to cast fishing nets and harvest immersed hoop nets.

- FISH FARMING IS A TRUE ECONOMIC CATALYST

Fishing complies with the conditions set in this delivery defining Economic Catalysts and is an excellent business opportunity to boost up local or regional economic activities.

Nevertheless, small African fishermen all around the continent hardly have governments' support to develop and expand their business. This is an economic aberration - among many others. Below briefly outlined are four suggestions to develop and expand fishing activities in African countries:

Carrying out any of above listed proposals would help villages' communities setup sustainable income building power.

Let us focus attention on the last proposal, and consider a high-added value operation called "Blue Gold". Blue Gold is fish and prawn farming practiced on large-scale that could yield up to 500 -1,000 metric tons per 100 hectares of farming compound; and generate a Return On Investment within a span of times of 2 to 3.

Some African countries with sea-coastline - Benin, Ivory Coast, Senegal, and South Africa - are involved in prawns harvesting and exporting to Europe and Southeast Asia. All over the African continent (except in Madagascar), however, there is no aqua-farming business organized on industrial basis to produce fish, shrimps and prawns for local consumption and for the export market. This is a missed opportunity to earning hard currencies when one knows that aqua-farming is a cash crop industry that offers a high return on vested money in a short span of times. There are three kinds of industrialized aqua farming:

· Intensive

· Semi-intensive

· Extensive

For instance, prawns' semi-intensive industrialized aqua farming is the widely used method. It could yield up to 2.5 to 3 metric tons of prawns per harvesting cycle of 4 to 5 months and per hectare of farming-pond. Considering the average selling price (over 5 years running) of US$ 10,000 per metric ton, one understands why the business is nicknamed "Blue Gold ", as shown in previous deliveries (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
- FISH FARMING IS A TREMENDOUS ASSET TO BOOST THE ECONOMY

There is no doubt fish farming is an tremendous asset for a developing country to boost the economy. It is a true economic catalyst operation:

· It regularly provides cash to fishermen.

· It sells equally on local and export markets.

- It stands as a launching pad for the setup of additional economic activities:

· 1- The processing of fresh fish to dried, smoked and salted fish

· 2- The production of salt from sea

· 3- The development of tertiary sector’s activities - packaging, transport and insurance

Small sized fish farming operations that produce - at full capacity - 60 metric tons of fish per year, in small water-ponds (50sq meter) are also good business opportunities with Gross Profit in the range of US$ 5,000 to 10,000 per year - according to bred fish' species.

One could easily imagine the economic impact that would result from the setup of 1,000 small fish farming operations on the territory of an African country. That means the production of 60,000 metric tons of fresh fish per year and revenues in the range of US$ 5,000,000 to US$ 10,000,000 to the operators.

- Interested parties - private African and international investors /
companies, government
agencies,
international development
agencies - to make contact through the Free Access Support Console available at this link